Observational Research as a Complementary Tool to Study Introduction Strategies of Organic Products in Catering
A.A.M. Poelman1, C. Glorie2, J. Mojet1*
1) Wageningen UR-CICS, the Netherlands; jos.mojet@wur.nl
2) Sodexho Food & Management Services, Capelle a/d IJssel, the Netherlands
The effect of different introduction strategies on the sales of organic meat and cheese slices was studied in four Dutch catering restaurants. The introduction strategies differed with regard to assortment, presentation and promotion. Sensory consumer research was conducted to study consumer preferences for the organic foods and nonorganic alternatives. In addition, three complementary research methods were applied before, during and after introduction of the new foods to reveal the factors critical to success:
1. Product category sales analyses in each outlet
2. Daily lunch choice analyses as recorded by ±25 consumers per outlet via an internetbased tool
3. Observational research on one location The camera recorded observations were explored to obtain an insight in the consumers’ choice process.
On the chosen location, the organic foods were promoted on their hedonic qualities. Organic meat and cheese slices were presented unwrapped on porcelain trays in addition to the regular assortment of plastic wrapped meat and cheese slices.
A coding scheme was developed for all consumers’ attention and choice behaviours relevant to the product category. The observational software The Observer (Noldus Information Technology, v. 5.0.23, 2003) was used for coding and data analysis.
Overall, promoting the hedonic aspects resulted in higher sales than focussing on the organic production method, but only when the organic product was preferred in the first place. The observational study provided valuable complementary insights in the consumers’ choice process. The observations showed that the chosen introduction strategy was successful in gaining the consumers’ attention for the organic products. Moreover, the observations indicated an explanation for the large decrease in product sales after the first introduction week. Organic product acquisition needed a threefold amount of time when compared to wrapped products, presumably hampering repeat purchase.